The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1887-06-11
4 NOTED WOMAN
OF the Red River Vallev-rhc story of
the Life of Mrs. Mary a. Bryan, the
Talented Authorcss. Who Married
at the Age of Is and Settled
in Louisiana.
New Orleans Picayune.l

New Orleans Picayune.l
Mrs Bryan was born in Florida.
Her father, Major John d. Edwards,
was a wealthy planter. Her home
was a large, rambling country house
called The Castle. In this beautiful
and picturesque old place, with its
high, moss-grown walls, its stately
rooms, with wainscotted oak walls and
rude carvings in mahogany, the velvet
eyed girl, always called Gypsy, spent
her childhood. She could hunt, fish,
shoot, lived much in the woods, ana
went often, before she was 10 years old,
on camp hunts with her father, who
was famous hunter. and kept his
pack Of hounds, and when the game
would be deer and bear. Often she
and her father would go out alone on
the gulf in a small sloop, and be gone
on fishing trips for days at time. In
truth she was the son OF her father, but
the gentle loving daughter OF u mother
whose keen insight and ambition laid
the foundation which later Oh, the
young girl built the structure Of Il
brilliant, honorable and honored life.
When she was II years Old Major
Edwards removed to Georgia to give
his daughter proper educational ad-
vantages, and the bright-eyed Flor
idian gypsy colt felt for the first time
the harness of the schOol-rOom. How
different it was from the mellow charm
of those high, carved rooms in the
castle! No lounging on tiger skin
before the deep hearth where the pine
| knots fared, reading novels, essays,
histories, poems no more uuinterrup-
ted hours with the gifted mother
whose conversation had been a liberal
education. But the pretty story of
good home influence receives its proper
finale in the fact that the 1l-year old
gypsy was enabled to take her place
in the classes OF girls far older than
herself.
When in her 10Th year she married
married without a word of warning
or note Of preparation. She had met
her husband at school parties, and the
young Louisiana planter had fallen in
love with the school girl and exacted
a promise of marriage from her. One
early morning she sat studying her
Latin lesson when word was brought
her that the young Lochinvar han
: come for his bride. In two hours the
trand-new wife, still in her short
lioSh, VAo otN~'.'t,
;. her husbands plantation and the old
: Latin grammar was forgotten.
$ After time her father forgave the
,. young couple and visited them. Their
k it was decided that the giIl-wiit
= should return 10 Georgia and finish hel
IL education. She continued her studio:
under private teachers, and took Il
@ writing for the papers. Before she wa
:, IS years old she had an editorial posi-
10 ton ON a literary paper in Atlanta. 1t
d that year she got diploma IRON
re College Temple, Georgia, and with thi
.r fairy wand went tr!umphantly back II
her husband on his Red River coito
ar plantation. The close of the war
is this time swept plantation slaves an
So home roof from the young husban
10 and wife. and they and their thre
~ little children went t) Natchltoche'
ig where Mrs. Bryan began edttortatt
writing for the Times, ri-week!
political paper struggling against tt
or tide of Radical reconstruction.
There comes time into the lie